The Cowboy's Texas Rose (The Dixons of Legacy Ranch 1)

Her heart ached to think of Sage reveling in boyish games with a man. Like a son would frolic with his dad. Peanut Butter was lipping at his hair in the picture. That goat would eat anything, and Toby was hunched down behind them, dipping his head to fit into the frame, his long arm outstretched to fit all three of them in the picture. Part of a work truck was behind them, as was a view of a desert pasture, and a message accompanied it as they squinted into the camera beneath the sunshine.

Toby:The kid drives a hard bargain. Offered to come on my summer camp tour as long as her human could come, too.”

It took her a moment to comprehend the play on words, and then she chuckled aloud. Was that a dad joke? Okay, Toby could dish out the dorky humor just as good as she could.

Rose:May the force be with you.

Almost instantly, several more photos popped up, now that she’d made it known she was on her phone. Photos of Sage walking with a group of elementary-age kids up Cerro Casas Grandes; a photo of Sage—“Oh my goodness”—at the top, posed for a picture with the Legacy’s main house tiny in the distance.

Toby:These were from today’s summer camp. Sage had a blast. Made a couple friends, kids who go to school in Alpine. One of those boys was autistic. Verbal.

Rose’s heart caught in her throat. Sage had connected with a couple of the kids? He’d made friends? Tears welled in her eyes. This was huge for him. For two weeks now, Toby and Sage had spent the days together. And every evening, Sage babbled more than he ever had before about their excursions, attempting to say lots of new things. It made her chest pinch that he was so smitten with Toby and that Toby seemed to be smitten with him, too. Friendships with others was another big step.

A new photo popped in. Sage was sitting on a stool in the main house kitchen, leaning over large jars of peanut butter lined up in front of him with spoons in each, paper covering each label with a question mark and a smear of peanut butter on Sage’s gap-toothed grin.

Toby:Conducting an experiment right now. Three mystery flavors to see which one is the favorite. No joke, he’d eat his weight in this stuff if I let him. Be wary when helping yourself. No guarantees he hasn’t double-dipped.

Rose laughed but also shook her head. Sage’s fine motor skills had been delayed and because of it his muscle strength and precision were delayed, too. She was always looking for things he could twist or carry to help with the deficiency. Why hadn’t she thought to turn something like eating peanut butter into a game?

Damn, but her ovaries gave a needy squeeze. Toby was dad material, no question about it, or he seemed to be on a mission to prove it to her. She’d thought she was capable of keeping her distance from men, hardened from years of practice, and yet she’d crumbled like a tower of blocks the moment Toby nudged her. She jumped up and retrieved her pack and sunglasses from her camper to walk up to the main house, anxious to join them.

“Hey, Doctor R!” one of the students called. “We’re going into Alpine to grab some dinner and find a place to dance! Wanna come?”

Ah, dancing with Toby had felt so freeing. Going dancing with her crew would be fun, and she smiled fondly at the memories of her impromptu date with the desert as her dance floor. But after what had happened to her mother still so fresh on her mind and with Toby enticing her to join in the fun with them, she shook her head. All she wanted to do was hold her family close and pretend that Toby was part of it, too.

A dangerous game. Was she…falling?

There were only a couple more days of field school left, and in spite of what was burgeoning between her and Toby, she’d have to return to Austin afterward. Her dad was home from Mexico and on his way up to the Legacy to pick up Sage so she could wrap up work. He’d be there in a couple more hours, though Rose knew her dad was probably coming more so to meet Toby and make a judgment on the man for himself. Her mom had definitely put him up to it.

She smiled at that.

“Y’all have fun! I’m going to go check on my kiddo and wait for my dad to get here. Eat some tacos for me!”

“We’ll bring you some!” Hunter shouted.

“Sweet! Even better!” she called back, giving a thumbs up, and set out across the flatland to the main house.

As she pushed through the door, she heard Toby and Sage’s sound effects of an incoming bomb, then the sound effect of an explosion as metal clinked the kitchen sink.

She crinkled her brow. What on earth were they doing? “Hello?”

“Speak of the devil,” Toby said to Sage and came jogging out of the kitchen and into the foyer as Rose dropped her pack beside the side table. Beside the urn.

He slipped his arms around her from behind as she stood up, nuzzling his nose and cheek into the crook of her neck and shoulder and coming flush with her backside.

“Sure as hell is the devil, and she’s bewitched me,” he murmured softly, brazenly slipping his lips along her skin to her ear, giving her rear a suggestive nudge. A tingle shot through her, and those stupid ovaries, squeezing before, felt as if they were flooding her belly with heat. With her son in their midst, Toby had remained careful and only snuck in these liberal touches when Sage wasn’t looking.

“You smell like peanut butter.” Rose laughed.

“Mmm, the breakfast, well, lunch, and dinner of champions with Sage here.”

She twisted to face him on a laugh, though his arms didn’t relent and his face retained his goofy smile. She reached up on her tiptoes and pecked his dimple. “Those pictures made my day. Thanks for taking him with you. Thanks for everything.”

He nuzzled her some more, saying nothing.

“You boys get along today?”

“Yup.”